The production of soft drink and malt beverages in the home has long been known. Specifically, it is known to produce carbon dioxide by the action of yeast on sugar for making both malt beverages and soft drinks, such as root beer, in the home.
There are several systems presently available for making home beverages which utilize the fermentation and carbonation effected by the action of yeast on sugar but all such systems known to applicant are objectionable from the standpoint of purity and economy. Oxygen is an enemy of fermented and carbonated beverages and none of the prior art systems known to applicant effectively exclude oxygen from such beverages without the use of expensive apparatus.
No prior art system known to applicant can use the carbon dioxide by-product of fermentation of a malt beverage, for example, to carbonate a soft drink without introducding yeast to the recipe of the soft drink. The presence of yeast in a soft drink is undesirable because of taste and because of variances in the carbonation level of soft drinks.
No prior art system known to applicant can accomplish all of the following in the manufacture of a beverage of the type described without at any time subjecting the beverage to atmospheric contact: (1) ferment the beveragwe, (2) capture the carbon dioxide derived from that fermentation for storage and reuse, (3) transfer the fermented beverage at either atmospheric or pressurized condition into a container filled with carbon dioxide and thereby separate the beverage from sediment, (4) carbonate the beverage to desired levels according to selected settings, and (5) dispense a portion of the carbonated beverage without subjecting the beverage remaining in the container to atmospheric contact.